#hasan washington post

[eretzyisrael]

[hasanabiouttakes]

[odinsblog]

And you know that there are many journalists who are very concerned about the pressure that's being applied about the sensitivities of this conflict.

And let's just be very clear here. We have the Israeli government, has a lot of supporters in Congress, has a lot of supporters in the media, has a lot of supporters in activist groups on K Street. There is a, quote unquote, pro-Israel lobby which does apply pressure on media organizations.

If you've worked like I have, both in American media and British media, you've seen the emails from honestreporting .com, and Kamera. And some of these groups your listeners may never have heard of. But I'll tell you what, every newsroom has heard of these groups; “Why is your headline this,” and “Why is your reporter showing bias?”And, “Why do they tweet this?” In this recent case, it's Louisa Lovelock, who is a British journalist at the Washington Post. It's a fantastic Middle East correspondence. Covered Syria, covered Iraq, covered Gaza, covered a bunch of things.

It's so absurd, the dossier they've produced against her. One of the things they go after is she took part in student protests at university in England against tuition fees. And..? A) that's a bad thing? B) that means she can't cover Israel's bombing of Gaza? It's so absurd. The stuff that they pull with me. Of course, I've had stuff going back 20 or 30 years that they've thrown at me. And it's a real problem where people get intimidated into not saying, not speaking what they want to speak about.

And we live in a world where the right is obsessed about cancel culture and free speech when, let's be very clear, the greatest victims of, quote unquote, cancel culture in this country have always been Palestinian activists, both on campus, in the media, and in politics.

I mean, let's just be clear, we have a Congress filled with white supremacists. We have a guy, I think, Andy Ogles from Tennessee, this week who was caught on tape saying, “Kill them all.” Alright? None of these guys get any attention. No votes of censure. Who is the only member of Congress who's been censured since October the 7th? The one Palestinian woman.

So let's just be very clear who the victims of, quote unquote, cancel culture and suppression and intimidation are. It tends to be people who speak out on behalf of Palestinians. And that's the case with reporters who aren't even taking positions. They're just reporting what they're seeing, and what they're seeing of course, is not favorable to the Israeli narrative, because what they're seeing is mass starvation. What they're seeing are mass killings. What they're seeing are kids being pulled out from the rubble. And, of course, that doesn't help the Israeli narratives.

—Mehdi Hasan, on ‘cancel culture’ and how journalists and reporters are attacked for simply reporting the truth about Gaza 🇵����

[beardedmrbean]

Years before Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7, 2023 and started the latest war in the region, the terror group plotted other assaults, including a scheme to blow up a skyscraper in Tel Aviv while pressuring Iran to assist in its battle against the Jewish state, according to documents found by Israeli forces in the Gaza Strip, the Washington Post reported.

The documents seized from Hamas command centers uncovered planning for the attacks using trains, boats and even horse-drawn chariots, according to the newspaper. The 59 pages of documents include an illustrated presentation detailing possible options for an attack as well as letters from Hamas to Iran’s top leaders in 2021 requesting hundreds of millions of dollars in funding and training for 12,000 additional Hamas fighters.

"Hamas is so determined to wipe Israel and the Jewish people off the map that it managed to drag Iran into direct conflict — under conditions that Iran wasn’t prepared for," an Israeli security official who has reviewed the letters and planning documents told the Post. The official spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive documents seized by Israeli forces in Gaza.

The move to release the documents comes as Israel could possibly retaliate against Iran after the Islamic Republic launched nearly 200 missiles on Oct. 1 in response to the killing of Hasan Nasrallah, the leader of Lebanon’s Hezbollah terrorist group.

In the letters written in 2021, Hamas’s Gaza leader Yahya Sinwar appeals to several senior Iranian officials, including the country’s supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, for additional financial and military support, pledging that, with Iran’s backing, he could destroy Israel completely in two years.

"We promise you that we will not waste a minute or a penny unless it takes us toward achieving this sacred goal," states a June 2021 letter with apparent signatures by Sinwar as well as five other Hamas officials.

Iran initially declined to directly involve itself in the war between Hamas and Israel after Oct. 7. However, the conflict has expanded as its proxies continue to attack Israel on multiple fronts.

In a statement to Fox News Digital, the Permanent Mission of the Islamic Republic of Iran accused Israel of spreading false information.

"We regard the Israeli regime as a mendacious criminal, anti-human entity and place no credence in their illusions," a spokesman for the mission said. "They have a long history of spreading falsehoods, fabricating already-counterfeit documents, and conducting deceptive psychological operations."

Some plans seized by the Israel Defense Forces include a computer slide presentation showing a Hamas outpost in northern Gaza with options and scenarios for attacking Israel, with targets ranging from military command centers to shopping malls.

Another described plans to destroy the Moshe Aviv Tower, a 70-story building in Tel Aviv that is Israel’s second tallest, as well as the Azrieli Center complex, which comprises three skyscrapers, a large shopping mall, train station and a cinema, according to the Post report.

"Working to find a mechanism to destroy the tower," the plan states.

Other plans of attack included targeting Israel's rail system and resurrecting horse-drawn carriages of antiquity as conveyances for fighters and weapons, the report said.

[justforbooks]

Daniel Ellsberg, a US government analyst who became one of the most famous whistleblowers in world politics when he leaked the Pentagon Papers, exposing US government knowledge of the futility of the Vietnam war, has died. He was 92. His death was confirmed by his family on Friday.

In March, Ellsberg announced that he had inoperable pancreatic cancer. Saying he had been given three to six months to live, he said he had chosen not to undergo chemotherapy and had been assured of hospice care.

“I am not in any physical pain,” he wrote, adding: “My cardiologist has given me license to abandon my salt-free diet of the last six years. This has improved my life dramatically: the pleasure of eating my favourite foods!”

On Friday, the family said Ellsberg “was not in pain” when he died. He spent his final months eating “hot chocolate, croissants, cake, poppy-seed bagels and lox” and enjoying “several viewings of his all-time favourite [movie], Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid”, the family statement added.

“In his final days, surrounded by so much love from so many people, Daniel joked, ‘If I had known dying would be like this, I would have done it sooner …’

“Thank you, everyone, for your outpouring of love, appreciation and well-wishes. It all warmed his heart at the end of his life.”

Tributes were swift and many.

Alan Rusbridger, the former editor-in-chief of the Guardian, said Ellsberg “was widely, and rightly, acclaimed as a great and significant figure. But not by Richard Nixon, who wanted him locked up. He’s why the national interest should never be confused with the interest of whoever’s in power.”

The Pulitzer-winning journalist Wesley Lowery wrote: “It was an honor knowing Daniel … I’ll remain inspired by his commitment to a mission bigger than himself.”

The writer and political commentator Molly Jong-Fast said: “One of the few really brave people on this earth has left it.”

The MSNBC host Mehdi Hasan said: “Huge loss for this country. An inspiring, brave, and patriotic American. Rest in power, Dan, rest in power.”

The Pentagon Papers covered US policy in Vietnam between 1945 and 1967 and showed that successive administrations were aware the US could not win.

By the end of the war in 1975, more than 58,000 Americans were dead and 304,000 were wounded. Nearly 250,000 South Vietnamese soldiers were killed, as were about 1 million North Vietnamese soldiers and Viet Cong guerillas and more than 2 million civilians in North and South Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia.

The Pentagon Papers caused a sensation in 1971, when they were published – first by the New York Times and then by the Washington Post and other papers – after the supreme court overruled the Nixon administration on whether publication threatened national security.

In 2017, the story was retold in The Post, an Oscar-nominated film directed by Steven Spielberg in which Ellsberg was played by the British actor Matthew Rhys.

Ellsberg served in the US Marine Corps in the 1950s but went to Vietnam in the mid-60s as a civilian analyst for the defense department, conducting a study of counter-insurgency tactics. When he leaked the Pentagon Papers, he was working for the Rand Corporation.

In 2021, a half-century after he blew the whistle, he told the Guardian: “By two years in Vietnam, I was reporting very strongly that there was no prospect of progress of any kind so the war should not be continued. And that came to be the majority view of the American people before the Pentagon Papers came out.

“By ’68 with the Tet offensive, by ’69, most Americans already thought it was immoral to continue but that had no effect on Nixon. He thought he was going to try to win it and they would be happy once he’d won it, however long it took.”

In 1973, Ellsberg was put on trial. Charges of espionage, conspiracy and stealing government property adding up to a possible 115-year sentence were dismissed due to gross governmental misconduct, including a break-in at the office of Ellsberg’s psychiatrist, part of the gathering scandal which led to Nixon’s resignation in 1974.

Born in Chicago on 7 April 1931, Ellsberg was educated at Harvard and Cambridge, completing his PhD after serving as a marine. He was married twice and had two sons and a daughter.

After the end of the Vietnam war he became by his own description “a lecturer, scholar, writer and activist on the dangers of the nuclear era, wrongful US interventions and the urgent need for patriotic whistleblowing”.

Ellsberg contributed to publications including the Guardian and published four books, among them an autobiography, Secrets: A Memoir of Vietnam and the Pentagon Papers, and most recently The Doomsday Machine: Confessions of a Nuclear War Planner.

In recent years, he publicly supported Chelsea Manning, the US soldier who leaked records of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan to WikiLeaks, Julian Assange, who published Manning’s leaks, and Edward Snowden, who leaked records concerning surveillance by the National Security Agency.

On Friday, the journalist Glenn Greenwald, one of the Guardian team which published the Snowden leaks in 2013, winning a Pulitzer prize, called Ellsberg “a true American hero” and “the most vocal defender” of Assange, Snowden, Manning and “others who followed in his brave footsteps”.

Steven Donziger, an attorney who represented Indigenous people in the Amazon rainforest against the oil giant Chevron, a case that led to his own house arrest, said: “Today the world lost a singularly brave voice who spoke truth about the US military machine in Vietnam and risked his life in the process. I drew deep inspiration from the courage of Daniel Ellsberg and was deeply honored to have his support.”

In 2018, in a joint Guardian interview with Snowden, Ellsberg paid tribute to those who refused to be drafted to fight in Vietnam.

“I would not have thought of doing what I did,” he said, “which I knew would risk prison for life, without the public example of young Americans going to prison to make a strong statement that the Vietnam war was wrong and they would not participate, even at the cost of their own freedom.

“Without them, there would have been no Pentagon Papers. Courage is contagious.”

Three years later, in an interview to mark 50 years since the publication of the Pentagon Papers, he said he “never regretted for a moment” his decision to leak.

His one regret, he said, was “that I didn’t release those documents much earlier when I think they would have been much more effective.

“I’ve often said to whistleblowers, ‘Don’t do what I did, don’t wait years till the bombs are falling and people have been dying.’”

Daily inspiration. Discover more photos at http://justforbooks.tumblr.com

[newstfionline]

Thursday, October 3, 2024

Helene death toll now at least 166 (AP) President Joe Biden will survey the devastation in North and South Carolina on Wednesday as rescuers continue their search for anyone still unaccounted for after Hurricane Helene caused catastrophic damage across the Southeast and killed at least 166 people. Many residents in both states were still without running water, cellular service and electricity as floodwaters receded and revealed more of the death and destruction left in Helene’s path. Helene, one of the deadliest storms in recent U.S. history, knocked out power and cellular service for millions. More than 1.2 million customers still were in the dark early Wednesday in the Carolinas and Georgia. Some residents cooked food on charcoal grills or hiked to high ground in the hopes of finding a signal to let loved ones know they are alive.

Russian fighter jet flew within feet of US F-16 near Alaska (AP) On Monday, Pentagon officials released footage of a Russian fighter jet flying dangerously close to a U.S. F-16 jet. The footage, according to the Pentagon, was recorded on September 23 in U.S. airspace over Alaska. The game of giant metal aerial chicken took place just a few weeks after the Russian and Chinese militaries conducted joint drills in the Arctic near Alaska. Those drills involved multiple fighter planes and bombers from both militaries, as well as fleets of their navy vessels.

As Israel escalates in Lebanon, U.S. influence is limited (Washington Post) First Israel ignored a U.S.-led effort to impose a cease-fire in its escalating war against Hezbollah. Then it killed the militant movement’s leader, Hasan Nasrallah, in a massive attack, taking Washington by surprise. Now, following a weekend scramble to avert a ground invasion of Lebanon, Israel is conducting exactly that, underscoring Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s disregard for the Biden administration’s entreaties and the limits of its influence on his actions. The widening gap between U.S. desires and Israeli behavior has left the administration struggling to adapt its diplomatic efforts to accommodate Netanyahu’s impulses. This chasm between the two allies has become especially pronounced in the days since the White House promised on Wednesday that Israel and Lebanon were about to agree to a cease-fire deal, only to end up a bystander as Netanyahu vowed at the United Nations to wipe out Hezbollah’s ability to threaten Israel for the foreseeable future. With many U.S. officials now embracing Israel’s success as it proceeds, with stunning momentum, to degrade Hezbollah, the events of recent weeks appear to fit a pattern in which the administration urges against specific Israeli actions only to later backtrack so it can avoid imposing conditions on military aid.

Argentine town battles a parrot invasion (Reuters) The town of Hilario Ascasubi near Argentina’s eastern Atlantic coast has a parrot problem. Thousands of the green-yellow-red birds have invaded, driven by deforestation in the surrounding hills, according to biologists. They bite on the town’s electric cables, causing outages, and are driving residents around the bend with their incessant screeching and deposits everywhere of parrot poo. “The hillsides are disappearing, and this is causing them to come closer to the cities to find food, shelter and water,” biologist Daiana Lera said, explaining that much of Argentina’s forest land has been gradually lost over the years. At times, according to locals, there are up to 10 parrots for each of the town’s 5,000 human inhabitants. During the summer, the birds migrate south to the cliffs of Patagonia for the breeding season. Images show hundreds of birds perched along electric cables and on pylons, or silhouetted in the dusk light swarming over buildings and a church, eerily reminiscent of scenes in film director Alfred Hitchcock’s classic 1963 thriller “The Birds.”

Italy and Switzerland to redraw Alpine border due to melting glaciers (Washington Post) Italy and Switzerland are set to redraw part of the mountainous border separating the two countries due to melting glaciers in the Alps. The change, which impacts an approximately 330-foot-long segment of the border, is happening near one of Europe’s most popular skiing destinations, Zermatt, and the iconic Matterhorn mountain. One of the biggest glaciers near Matterhorn, the Theodul Glacier, retreated almost 1,000 feet between 1990 to 2015. The melting, which has been attributed to climate change, revealed new topographical details that raised new questions about the dimensions of the border between the two countries. In 2022, the jurisdiction of a glacial Italian mountain lodge there came under question when melting ice revealed the refuge was actually straddling the border.

Ukraine’s east buckling under improved Russian tactics, superior firepower (Washington Post) Soldiers from Ukrainian units along the front have described improved Russian tactics this summer that combine their advantages into powerful attacks that Ukrainians have struggled to counteract. Enemy troops are storming the battlefields in small teams that minimize detection and make return fire difficult, backed by superior quantities of artillery and drones. Russia has also improved its battlefield communication, helping coordinate attacks. While losses are staggering, Ukrainian soldiers have said, the Russians have the numbers to keep up the pressure and Western aid isn’t making up the equipment deficit. That confluence of factors, combined with Ukraine’s perennial challenge to replenish its combat units and its focus on a large operation inside Russia, has allowed Moscow’s forces to claim territory in the Donetsk region with speed and aggression not seen since the full invasion in 2022. Ukrainian forces have been retreating along dozens of miles of a front line being pushed to its breaking point.

A US bomb from World War II explodes at a Japanese airport (Foreign Policy) What is believed to have been a World War II-era bombshell detonated near a regional airport in southwestern Japan on Wednesday, nearly 80 years after the war ended. The Japan Ground Self-Defense Force stated that the explosive appeared to be a 500-pound U.S. bomb that was likely dropped in an effort to stop Japanese “kamikaze” attacks, as the airport used to be a Japanese navy base from which hundreds of kamikaze pilots took off on their final missions. No injuries were reported in the explosion but nearly 90 flights were canceled, as Miyazaki Airport now must determine how to fix the 23-foot-wide and nearly 3-foot-deep crater in the middle of its taxiway.

Typhoon bringing heavy rain heads toward Taiwan (AP) A typhoon bringing strong winds and torrential rainfall slowly advanced Wednesday toward Taiwan, where thousands of people have been evacuated from vulnerable low-lying or mountainous terrain. At least 93 centimeters (3 feet) of rain has fallen in the coastal Taitung County in the past four days and 29 centimeters (11.4 inches) in the major port city of Kaohsiung ahead of Typhoon Krathon. The typhoon, packing maximum sustained winds near the center of 173 kph (108 mph) and gusts of 209 kph (130 mph), is expected to make landfall early Thursday. Schools and offices have been closed, flights and ferry services canceled and the city mayor has asked the 2.7 million residents to stay indoors. Around 10,000 people have been evacuated from at-risk areas.

Israeli strikes on Lebanon are the most intense and deadly in decades (Washington Post) For 10 days, Israel unleashed a relentless air campaign on Lebanon, striking over 3,600 Hezbollah-linked targets ahead of a ground offensive, according to IDF statements. “Aside from Gaza, this is the most intense aerial campaign that we know of in the last twenty years,” said Emily Tripp, director of Airwars, a British conflict monitor. The strikes have leveled entire residential blocks in south Beirut and devastated Hezbollah’s upper ranks, killing its leader Hasan Nasrallah and political deputy Nabil Kaouk. At least 1,400 people have been killed and 900,000 displaced since Israel accelerated its cross-border campaign (a fifth of the population), according to the Lebanese government. Fifty children died under Israeli bombardment on Monday and Tuesday—the United Nations estimates that’s double the rate of children killed during Lebanon’s 2006 war.

We risk dying from the cold, says displaced man in Beirut (BBC) The Lebanese prime minister said yesterday around a million people have been displaced as Israel's air strikes continue across Lebanon. With emergency shelters in Beirut unable to accommodate all those arriving from the south, many are sleeping by the road, in public squares, or on the beach. "We were forced to leave our villages and homes and come to Beirut, but there are no available houses or schools, all are overcrowded," a man tell our colleagues on BBC Arabic. "If we survive the bombings, we risk dying from the cold weather and diseases. We can't afford medicine should we fall ill. Many suffer on the streets," he adds. Another man says he now lives on the street and does not know what to do: "We left everything behind and arrived here with no clothes or resources." "Apartment rents have skyrocketed beyond our means, leaving us on the streets with our children in the cold winter," another person says. "We are enduring a truly tragic situation.”

As Crisis Builds, Lebanon’s Government Is Nowhere to Be Found (NYT) Even for the Lebanese, it can be hard to say where it all went wrong for their tiny, beautiful country. Certainly it was long before early Tuesday morning, when Israeli troops marched into southern Lebanon. Long before Friday, when Israel assassinated Hassan Nasrallah, the revered and reviled Hezbollah leader who had a chokehold on the country’s politics and security for years.  And long before last October, when Hezbollah and Israel began trading airstrikes and rocket fire across the border, bringing the war in Gaza to Lebanon’s green, fertile south. Many say Lebanon’s current anguish began in 2019, when the economy imploded and took the country’s once-robust middle class with it. Mass anti-government protests that fall did nothing to dislodge the country’s widely loathed political class. Others might mention 2020, the year the coronavirus further crippled the economy, and the year an enormous explosion at Beirut’s port shattered entire neighborhoods of the capital. A good case could be made for going all the way back to the 15-year civil war that ended in 1990. All these crises and more have left Lebanon in no shape to withstand a sharply escalating conflict with Israel, like a 10-car pileup caught in the path of a tornado.

A man in south Lebanon cares for pets left behind as residents flee Israeli strikes (AP) A dog clings to Hussein Hamza inside a car as he pans his camera around to show the aftermath of an Israeli airstrike in southern Lebanon. “Poor thing. Look at this, he’s clinging to me out of fear,” Hamza says in the video he posted online. “A missile hit here,” he said, his voice shaking. As Israel pummels southern Lebanon with airstrikes, tens of thousands of residents are fleeing their homes in fear. But Hamza is staying. His mission is to care for the dogs and other animals left behind. He runs an animal shelter that houses 200 dogs in the village of Kfour. Recently, he has also been driving around towns and villages in the south, looking for stray animals and abandoned pets to feed. “I opened bags of food and left them water. I’m relying on God,” said Hamza.

Nigeria’s independence anniversary is marked by protests and frustration over economic hardship (AP) Nigerians on Tuesday staged protests against economic hardship as the West African nation marked its 64th independence anniversary with its president calling for patience. Police fired tear gas to disperse some of the protesters, resulting in clashes. Dozens of people in a few states waved placards and the green-and-white national flag, demanding better opportunities and jobs for young people, in a country that has some of the world’s highest poverty and hunger levels despite being a top oil producer on the continent. Nigeria remains “an unfortunate case of running very hard and staying in the same place,” said Cheta Nwanze, managing partner at Lagos-based SBM Intelligence research firm. Nigeria continues to perform poorly in key areas like education and health, he said. “If your population is not healthy ... or not educated, you can’t possibly make progress,” Nwanze added.

[lilyfreshwater]

I wish ranboo had a spine and wasn't folding to every small thing his fans feel like virtue signalling because its obvious he does care somewhat but hes always walking on eggshells about things. like, he accidentally posted an ai image, and then went out of his way to commission a real artist for something to make up for it. that's genuine. streams where apologizes and "takes accountability" for edgy 13 year olds posting racist shit in defense of him on twitter, are the opposite of genuine. at least dreams endless apologies were for real shit when he was actually being some ist/phobic every month 💀

i think the funny thing is that despite touting this image of being knowledgeable and always learning and shit like...he isn't. i highly doubt he's ever actually put in the time and effort to learn about an issue that he isn't being "cancelled" for. and listen i'm not saying i'm perfect either, i mean get lots of info from news podcasts (washington post, nyt, npr, pod save america) and hasan's yt (let me reiterate: info not opinions) because i have time to listen to stuff in the background when i'm walking somewhere or doing something but i don't have time right now to sit down and learn about something if it's not for a class or the MCAT. and that's totally fine! not everyone has time for that stuff (i mean ranboo probably does). but the thing is it's SO disingenuous to be like "im woke! i learn about stuff!" when the only time you do is to avoid getting canceled. like take a page out of ludwig's book and go read the wikipedia page on american imperialism why don't you

[good-old-gossip]

Israel’s leading paper says its own army deliberately killed Israelis on October 7. But in the U.S. media: silence

Israeli soldiers sit in a tank near the Israel-Gaza border after the end of a seven-day truce between Israel and Hamas, December 1, 2023, Kibbutz Beeri. (Photo: © Ilia Yefimovich/dpa via ZUMA Press/APA Images)

Three days ago, Israel’s leading newspaper, Haaretz, published the results of its thorough, comprehensive investigationinto what actually happened when Hamas attacked on October 7. So far, the U.S. mainstream media has not said a word about the shocking results of that investigation. Critics sometimes use the expression “media malpractice” to describe the American mainstream’s failure to report accurately about Israel/Palestine. This time, though, what’s happening is even worse; it has to be deliberate self-censorship, designed to hide the truth from the U.S. audience.

Haaretz’s long report found that Israel’s army had employed the “Hannibal Directive” on October 7. The Directive is an Israeli policy that instructs the military to open fire on its own soldiers to prevent them from being taken captive. Of course, this site, alongside other alternative media sources, was one of the first to point out the possible role of the Hannibal Directive in Israeli deaths on October 7. But the Haaretz report was significant in the number of military sources it interviewed who confirmed that there were direct orders to implement the Directive.

Haaretz explained that the policy has “the intent of foiling kidnapping even at the expense of the lives of the kidnapped.” At first, the army started deploying “Ziks,” unmanned assault drones. Later, the army fired mortars, and then artillery shells. Haaretz also confirmed that the military did know that Israeli civilians had also been taken hostage, but, nonetheless, at 11:22 a.m. the order came down: “Not a single vehicle can return to Gaza.”

The Haaretz report is cautious, but it still concludes: “[The 11:22 a.m. message] was understood by everyone. . .  At this point, the IDF was not aware of the extent of kidnapping along the Gaza border, but it did know that many people were involved. Thus, it was entirely clear what the message meant, and what the fate of some of the kidnapped people would be.” 

In other words, some — possibly many —  of the Israeli deaths that day, including civilians, were deliberately caused by Israel’s own military. How this is not news is incomprehensible. But, three days later, in the New York Times: not a word. The Washington Post: nothing. CNN: nothing. National Public Radio: nada.  

Instead, if you plug “Hannibal” into the search engines at these media sites, the results only mention “Hannibal Lecter,” the fictional serial killer who was the subject of a book and popular film.

But there’s nothing new about the Israeli military’s Hannibal Directive. (The doctrine is probably named for the Carthaginian general who fought Rome in 200 B.C., who said he would swallow poison instead of surrendering. Some Israeli sources claimed that the name was randomly generated, an assertion that prompts skepticism.) 

Way back on October 22, this site reported :

“A growing number of reports indicate Israeli forces responsible for Israeli civilian and military deaths following October 7 attack.”

Then, last March, the estimable Jonathan Ofir also posted here that an actual Israeli soldier, Captain Bar Zonshein, had admitted to “firing tank shells on vehicles carrying Israeli civilians.”  

The even more comprehensive Haaretz investigation should have prompted a reaction from the mainstream U.S. reporters who are stationed in Israel. American journalists should have been cultivating their own sources since October 7, and been ready to at least match the Haaretz article. Instead, the only response so far has been a panel hosted by Piers Morgan, and a Mehdi Hasan/Bassem Youssef podcast. 

I’ve followed the U.S. media coverage of Israel/Palestine closely for more than a decade now. Continuing to hide Israel’s deployment of the Hannibal Directive on October 7 is one of the most offensive examples of self-censorship that I can recall. The mainstream’s dishonesty is just one more example of why alternative websites are indispensable. 

Written by -

James North

[fiercynn]

On the evening of October 12th, the Palestinian American legal scholar and human rights attorney Noura Erakat called into the CBS News Streaming show Prime Time with John Dickerson—which airs nightly on CBS’s website and apps, as well as on Pluto TV and Paramount—for a live interview on the human rights crisis caused by Israel’s bombing of Gaza. According to internal CBS discussions reviewed by Jewish Currents, employees at CBS had prioritized booking Erakat in part because the show had not included any Palestinian guests in its coverage of the region during the previous three days. But while the interview aired live to the network’s thousands of streaming viewers, CBS omitted the footage—in which Erakat sharply criticized the anchor’s framing of Israel’s actions—from the version of the episode published online that night, and declined to post a standalone clip of the interview, as it usually would. According to a schedule reviewed by Jewish Currents, the interview was initially listed in the 7:30 pm slot, between segments on Senator Bob Menendez and Israel/Palestine-related protests across the United States. But while those reports appear in the version of the show available online, Erakat’s remarks do not. Speaking with Jewish Currents, Erakat described her Prime Time interview as “a really tense back-and-forth.” “Rather than just answer questions about how bad things are,” she said, “I talked about media responsibility for perpetuating racist and Islamophobic tropes that have basically fomented war.” When Jeff Glor, the anchor filling in for Dickerson, described Hamas’s October 7th attacks on Israeli civilians as “barbarian,” Erakat asked why the same term wasn’t used to describe actions by Israel, noting that Israeli soldiers shot and killed her cousin three years ago at a checkpoint in the West Bank, and Israel still has not returned his body. Further, when Glor started to say that Gaza was facing Israel’s current bombing campaign “because Hamas started it,” Erakat asked if he thought Israel’s war crimes in Gaza were justified, leading Glor to backtrack. [x]

the article goes on to talk about numerous other palestinian and muslim commentators, analysts, and journalists who have been sidelines, including yousef munayyer, a palestinian american write and political analyst who was set to appear on CNN's this morning until he told them that he planned to "raise awareness about the mass atrocities" committed by israel; omar baddar, a palestinian american political analyst who was similarly scheduled for a CNN international show until he shared an outline of his planned comments; medhi hasan, ayman mohyeldin, and ali velshi, three MSBNC journalists sidelined from hosting their own shows; and more.

this only contributes to the overall media bias against palestine, one that has been ongoing for decades: historian maha nassar wrote a piece for +972 magazine in 2020 showing that out of the 5,739 op-eds about palestine published in the new york times and the washington post from 1970-2019, only 78 were authored by palestinians - LESS THAN ONE AND A HALF PERCENT. even someone as famous as edward said only had one op-ed published by the new york times throughout the 1990s, during which time thomas friedman wrote 33 articles discussing palestinians, william safire wrote 24, anthony lewis wrong 39, and a.m. rosenthal wrote 56.

[plethoraworldatlas]

Note: This article includes graphic descriptions and images of violence.

International rights groups and leaders who for months have demanded a cease-fire in Gaza expressed renewed horror as images emerged from Israel's Sunday bombing of a tent camp that had been set up by forcibly displaced Palestinians in Rafah, with women and children making up the majority of the 45 people who were reportedly killed in the attack.

Emergency workers toldNBC News that the death toll was likely to rise, as many people had been trapped in the encampment as it was engulfed in flames.

NBC reported that the strike took place less than a mile away from a Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) medical facility, where at least 180 injured people arrived on Sunday.

"We are horrified by this deadly event, which shows once again that nowhere is safe," said MSF on social media.

Muhammad Al-Mughir, a spokesperson for the Palestinian Civil Defense, told NBC that the Tal al-Sultan neighborhood that was attacked had been designated a "humanitarian area" in Rafah, from which more than 800,000 people have been forcibly displaced this month as Israel has launched a ground invasion. More than 1 million people have been forced to flee to Rafah since October, when Israel began its siege in Gaza.

The bombing came two days after the International Court of Justice issued its latest order to Israel regarding its assault on Gaza, telling the government that it "must immediately halt its military offensive or any other action in the Rafah governorate" and that the ICJ was not convinced by Israel's claims that it was taking steps to protect civilians.

Israeli officials offered familiar statements regarding the attack, saying the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) had been aiming for two senior Hamas leaders, that it had made efforts to prevent civilian harm, and that reports of the refugee camp going up in flames were "under review."

Humanitarian leaders around the world were not convinced, with Francesca Albanese, the United Nations special rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territories, saying Israel's latest "cruelty, along with blatant defiance of the international law and system, is unacceptable."

...

Groups that have repeatedly condemned the assault on Gaza demanded that the U.S. government immediately end its financial and political support for Israel. The U.S. is the largest international funder of the IDF, and approved $17 billion more in military aid in April as President Joe Biden warned that a full-scale offensive in Rafah would be a "red line" that would force the White House to halt its support for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

"This U.S.-backed massacre of civilians is a direct result of the Biden administration's enduring political and military support for Israel's genocide in Gaza," said Nihad Awad, national executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, on Monday. "The Palestinian child shown without a head would still be alive today had our government not offered Israel's far-right government unceasing support for the slaughter of Palestinian civilians and the ethnic cleansing of Gaza. Those who support genocide are just as guilty as those who drop American-supplied bombs on civilians."

Awad called on Biden, Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, and the U.S. Congress to "show a shred of humanity and change course."

As major news outlets like The New York Times and The Washington Post buried the news of the attack under unrelated stories, journalist Mehdi Hasan condemned the silence of the Biden administration and the "U.S. political and media establishments."

"The (lack of) reaction to the scenes of sheer carnage, burned refugee bodies, and decapitated babies coming out of Rafah tonight from the U.S. political and media establishments is nothing other than the normalizing, the banalizing, of genocide," said Hasan.

[planetofsnarfs]

Former MSNBC pundit Mehdi Hasan is launching a new media company catering to the progressive left. 

Hasan’s new media outlet, named “Zeteo,” which comes from the ancient Greek word for seeking out and striving, will be a new media organization “that seeks answers for the questions that really matter, while always striving for the truth,” according to a Substack website for the company. 

Hasan told The Washington Post this week he has raised $4 million for the venture and said he plans to host a streaming show, publish podcasts and written pieces eventually charge $6 per month via yearly subscriptions. 

“This is one of the biggest news years of our lives, and that’s why I wanted to do something like this,” he told the Post. “I’m not a businessman. I’m not an entrepreneur. I’ve never done anything like this before. It’s a huge gamble. But if I wasn’t confident, I wouldn’t be doing this.”

Hasan’s weekend prime-time show was canceled last year by MSNBC, which offered for him to stay on as a paid contributor, an olive branch he ultimately declined. 

The progressive commentator also this week joined The Guardian as a regular columnist. 

Hasan is the latest in a slew of former cable news pundits to launch media companies and brands of their own. 

The ousted Fox News pundit Tucker Carlson started the Tucker Carlson Network last year, and former CNN anchor Don Lemon plans to launch a show on X, formerly known as Twitter, later this month.

[warningsine]

Violent clashes have broken out in Pakistan between security forces and supporters of former prime minister Imran Khan after he was arrested on Tuesday.

Protests are erupting nationwide, and at least one person has been killed in the city of Quetta.

The United States and UK have called for adherence to the "rule of law".

Mr Khan was arrested by security forces at the High Court in the capital, Islamabad.

Dramatic footage showed dozens of officers arriving and detaining the 70-year-old, who was bundled into a vehicle and driven away.

He was appearing in court on charges of corruption, which he says are politically motivated.

Mobile data services in the country were suspended on the instructions of the interior ministry on Friday as protests grew, many of them taking place in front of army compounds.

Pakistan's army plays a prominent role in politics, sometimes seizing power in military coups, and, on other occasions, pulling levers behind the scenes.

Many analysts believe Mr Khan's election win in 2018 happened with the help of the military. Now in opposition, he is one of its most vocal critics, and analysts say the army's popularity has fallen.

Footage from Lahore posted on Twitter appeared to show a crowd breaking into the military corps commander's house destroying furniture and belongings inside.

Speaking from Washington, the US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said he wanted to make sure that "whatever happens in Pakistan is consistent with the rule of law, with the constitution".

UK Foreign Secretary James Cleverly, speaking alongside Blinken, noted that Britain enjoyed "a longstanding and close relationship" with Commonwealth member Pakistan, and wanted to "see the rule of law adhered to".

On Tuesday evening, supporters of Imran Khan gathered outside the Pakistan High Commission in London to protest against his arrest.

'Chaos and anarchy'

Mr Khan was ousted as PM in April last year and has been campaigning for early elections since then.

General elections are due to be held later this year.

Speaking to the BBC's Newshour, Mr Khan's spokesman, Raoof Hasan, said he expected "the worst" and that the arrest could plunge the country "into chaos and anarchy".

"We're facing multiple crises. There is an economic crisis, there is a political crisis, there is a cost of livelihood crisis and consequently this occasion will be a catharsis for them to step out and I fear a fair amount of violence is going to be back," he said.

A member of Mr Khan's legal team, Raja Mateen, said undue force had been used against him at the court.

"Mr Khan went into the biometric office for the biometrics. The rangers went there, they broke the windows, they hit Mr Khan on the head with a baton," said Mr Mateen.

Mr Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party called on its supporters to protest. In the hours after he was detained, violence was reported from cities including Lahore, Karachi and Peshawar.

On the streets of Islamabad, hundreds of protesters blocked one of the main highways in and out of the capital.

People pulled down street signs and parts of overpasses, lit fires and threw stones. During the hour or so that the BBC was there, no police or authorities were visible.

Protesters said they were angry about Imran Khan's arrest.

"This is absolutely the last straw," said Farida Roedad.

"Let there be anarchy, let there be chaos. If there is no Imran, there's nothing left in Pakistan. No one is there to take over."

Writing on social media, police in Islamabad said five police officers had been injured and 43 protesters arrested.

It said at least 10 people, including six police officers, had been injured in the south-western city of Quetta in clashes between Mr Khan's supporters and security forces - with one protester killed.

A statement from the inspector general of Punjab police said the arrest of Mr Khan had been ordered because he was accused of "corruption and corrupt practices".

The case involves allegations over the allotment of land in the so-called Al-Qadir Trust, which is owned by Mr Khan and his wife, Dawn newspaper reported.

Mr Khan, who is being held at an undisclosed location, denies breaking any law.

In a video message filmed as he travelled to Islamabad - and released by the PTI before his arrest - Mr Khan said he was ready for what lay ahead.

"Come to me with warrants, my lawyers will be there," he said. "If you want to send me to jail, I am prepared for it."

Security was tight in the centre of the capital for the former PM's court appearance.

Dozens of cases have been brought against Mr Khan since he was ousted from power.

The security forces have tried to detain him on a number of previous occasions at his Lahore residence, but were blocked by his supporters, resulting in fierce clashes.

On Tuesday, police had blocked roads into Islamabad, so the number of supporters with Imran Khan was not as high as on previous occasions, making it easier to arrest him.

He was elected prime minister in 2018, but fell out with Pakistan's powerful army. After a series of defections, he lost his majority in parliament. He was ousted after he lost a confidence vote in April 2022, four years into his tenure.

Since then, he has been a vocal critic of the government and the country's army.

In October, he was disqualified from holding public office, accused of incorrectly declaring details of presents from foreign dignitaries and proceeds from their alleged sale.

The next month, he survived a gun attack on his convoy while holding a protest march.

On Monday, the military warned him against making "baseless allegations" after he again accused a senior officer of plotting to kill him.

[hasanabiouttakes]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/video-games/2024/06/25/dr-disrespect-twitch-ban-allegations-statement/

[news365timesindia]

[ad_1] Sanju and Surya dismantle Bangladesh. Source ( Indiancricketteam Insta) With the T20 series already sealed, India came out all guns blazing in the third game against Bangladesh, delivering a commanding performance with the bat. Sanju Samson stole the spotlight with a blistering 111 off just 47 balls, supported by captain Suryakumar Yadav’s powerful 75. Riyan Parag and Hardik Pandya carried the momentum, propelling India to a record 297/6. It was the highest T20I total in a match featuring two Test-playing nations. Bangladesh managed only 164/7, falling 133 runs short, which is a huge margin in this format. The Indian team got off to a flying start, with Sanju taking charge early on. His partner, Abhishek Sharma, fell for just four to a sharp and short delivery from Tanzim Hasan. Bangladesh would have hoped to capitalise on that breakthrough, but things unraveled differently, when Surya joined Sanju at the crease. The duo complemented each other, dismantling the Bangladeshi bowlers and sending the ball to all corners of the ground. India stormed to 82 in the first six overs, making their aggressive intent clear. The standout feature of Sanju’s innings was his clarity of thought and precise shot selection —qualities that had eluded him in earlier outings. He seemed to be hitting sixes at will, with every plan the bowlers tried backfiring spectacularly. It’s rare for Surya’s brilliance to take a backseat, but Sanju’s knock was nothing short of extraordinary, as he relentlessly punished the attack. The pair brought up the hundred-run partnership in style, with Sanju hammering Rishad Hossain for five consecutive sixes, leaving Bangladesh reeling and propelling India to a colossal 152 in just 10 overs. The onslaught showed no signs of slowing down, as Sanju raced to his maiden T20I century in just 40 balls. His scintillating knock came to an end at 111, when Mustafizur Rahman outfoxed him with a slower delivery. Surya followed soon after, dismissed by Mahmudullah for a brilliant 75. With India firmly in control, Pandya and Riyan carried the momentum forward, playing fearless cricket. Pandya, in particular, displayed breathtaking power with some jaw-dropping strokes. Although the wickets of these two and Nitish Kumar Reddy fell in the final overs, the damage was already done, as India posted a staggering 297/6. The Indian dominance continued with the ball, as Mayank Yadav struck gold with his first delivery, dismissing Parvez Hossain Emon. Bangladesh struggled to find momentum, losing their second wicket in the third over, when Washington Sundar removed Tanzid Hasan. After a few runs coming in the middle, Ravi Bishnoi outfoxed Najmul Hossain Shanto, deepening Bangladesh’s troubles at 59/3 by the end of the powerplay. Litton Das and Towhid Hridoy tried to stabilise the innings by rotating the strike and finding occasional boundaries. However, in an attempt to accelerate, Das was caught in the deep, handing Bishnoi his second wicket. By the end of 15 overs, Bangladesh were struggling at 130/5, with new batter Mahmudullah unable to stay at the crease for long. With the run rate pressure mounting and limited batting depth, Bangladesh was choked out of the contest, eventually falling short by 133 runs. Hridoy fought valiantly with a well-made 63, helping Bangladesh reach 164/7, but it was not enough to challenge India’s massive total. For more sports content: https://revsportz.in/ The post Sanju Samson stars in India’s record batting show against Bangladesh in third T20I appeared first on Sports News Portal | Latest Sports Articles | Revsports. [ad_2] Source link

[news365times]

[ad_1] Sanju and Surya dismantle Bangladesh. Source ( Indiancricketteam Insta) With the T20 series already sealed, India came out all guns blazing in the third game against Bangladesh, delivering a commanding performance with the bat. Sanju Samson stole the spotlight with a blistering 111 off just 47 balls, supported by captain Suryakumar Yadav’s powerful 75. Riyan Parag and Hardik Pandya carried the momentum, propelling India to a record 297/6. It was the highest T20I total in a match featuring two Test-playing nations. Bangladesh managed only 164/7, falling 133 runs short, which is a huge margin in this format. The Indian team got off to a flying start, with Sanju taking charge early on. His partner, Abhishek Sharma, fell for just four to a sharp and short delivery from Tanzim Hasan. Bangladesh would have hoped to capitalise on that breakthrough, but things unraveled differently, when Surya joined Sanju at the crease. The duo complemented each other, dismantling the Bangladeshi bowlers and sending the ball to all corners of the ground. India stormed to 82 in the first six overs, making their aggressive intent clear. The standout feature of Sanju’s innings was his clarity of thought and precise shot selection —qualities that had eluded him in earlier outings. He seemed to be hitting sixes at will, with every plan the bowlers tried backfiring spectacularly. It’s rare for Surya’s brilliance to take a backseat, but Sanju’s knock was nothing short of extraordinary, as he relentlessly punished the attack. The pair brought up the hundred-run partnership in style, with Sanju hammering Rishad Hossain for five consecutive sixes, leaving Bangladesh reeling and propelling India to a colossal 152 in just 10 overs. The onslaught showed no signs of slowing down, as Sanju raced to his maiden T20I century in just 40 balls. His scintillating knock came to an end at 111, when Mustafizur Rahman outfoxed him with a slower delivery. Surya followed soon after, dismissed by Mahmudullah for a brilliant 75. With India firmly in control, Pandya and Riyan carried the momentum forward, playing fearless cricket. Pandya, in particular, displayed breathtaking power with some jaw-dropping strokes. Although the wickets of these two and Nitish Kumar Reddy fell in the final overs, the damage was already done, as India posted a staggering 297/6. The Indian dominance continued with the ball, as Mayank Yadav struck gold with his first delivery, dismissing Parvez Hossain Emon. Bangladesh struggled to find momentum, losing their second wicket in the third over, when Washington Sundar removed Tanzid Hasan. After a few runs coming in the middle, Ravi Bishnoi outfoxed Najmul Hossain Shanto, deepening Bangladesh’s troubles at 59/3 by the end of the powerplay. Litton Das and Towhid Hridoy tried to stabilise the innings by rotating the strike and finding occasional boundaries. However, in an attempt to accelerate, Das was caught in the deep, handing Bishnoi his second wicket. By the end of 15 overs, Bangladesh were struggling at 130/5, with new batter Mahmudullah unable to stay at the crease for long. With the run rate pressure mounting and limited batting depth, Bangladesh was choked out of the contest, eventually falling short by 133 runs. Hridoy fought valiantly with a well-made 63, helping Bangladesh reach 164/7, but it was not enough to challenge India’s massive total. For more sports content: https://revsportz.in/ The post Sanju Samson stars in India’s record batting show against Bangladesh in third T20I appeared first on Sports News Portal | Latest Sports Articles | Revsports. [ad_2] Source link